Pass Down Gratitude

'Thanks, Dad.'
It was kind of cool to be out here after all. This place had a different feel than back home, where Tommy would call him over and they'd waste the afternoon laughing at Adult Swim cartoons that weren't even funny. Adam kind of liked it here.

Those simple words meant more to Rick than Adam could anticipate. Adam didn't know why his father acted in a way he'd never seen before. It was no different a mandatory response than when Rick dropped him off at school, or gave him lunch money to spend on Pokemon cards. But it was different this time.

Even though Adam said the words the same, it was strange to hear them in this context. After all, his Dad dragged him out to the middle of nowhere and made him live a day of the stupid, boring life these village folk led. But Adam said thanks because he actually meant it. It was strange to Adam.

All those times Rick gave him things he wanted: presents, tickets to shows, spending money... Adam didn't really mean it. It was just something you said when a person gives you what you want. Adam was so focused on the things he wanted, he never thought much about the person giving him those things.

This time it meant a lot to Rick to hear those words. For some reason, this 'thank you' meant a lot more than the countless other 'thank you's. Adam paused to recount that his father received them with just as much indifference as Adam gave them. But this time, Rick gave something Adam didn't want, so Adam had no obligation to thank Rick. But he said it of his own volition. Maybe it was the first genuine expression of gratitude in Adam's life, because just then Adam began to understand what gratitude really meant.

It's appreciating the tough, unpleasant challenges set before you by someone who cares about you, to make you stronger, happier, and a better person in the end.

Adam was not grateful for the toys and fun exciting entertaining things his father gave him, and his father knew that. Rick was even okay with that, because how could Adam? He got those things with no effort and those things made no lasting benefit to him.

But this trip, Adam realized, was something that Rick was grateful to have experienced as a young man. Rick went through all this trouble to share it with his boy Adam, so too was Rick was grateful that Adam received his sharing.

"Did your Dad take you out like this too, when you were a boy, Rick?"

Rick's voice went a little dry. "... No." A wet bead formed around his eye and he looked away.

Then Adam understood why this 'thank you' meant so much more than all the other 'thank you's. They walked back to the car silently the rest of the way.